THE FIRST DAY 



BATTLE OF GETTYSBURG. 



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Mr. Commander and Companions : 

I am under orders to-night, not as a regular or volunteer soldier, 
but as a conscript. I shall therefore offer no apology for the 
remarks I have to make. I hope however, to avoid giving 
offense, though that is a difficult matter sometimes if one fear- 
lessly tells the truth. The orders are that I sliall tell you of 
my personal experience at the battle of Gettysburg, more par- 
ticularly of the first day's engagement. Do not think me 
egotistical, therefore, if I often use the first person, for I assure 
yOu it is with great reluctance and much trepidation that I 
rise before the distinguished naval and military heroes assem- 
bled here to-night. 

For several days prior to the ist of July, 1863, that almost 
peerless soldier. Major General John F. Reynolds, had been 
in command of the left wing of the Army of the Potomac, 
composed of three corps: The First under command of Gen- 
eral Doubleday, whose assistant adjutant general I was ; the 
Third, General Sickles, and the Eleventh, General O. O. How- 
ard. General Hunt has so recently and accurately defined the 
position of .the army immediately preceding the engagement 
that I need not allude to it at this time. Soon after daylight 
on July ist. General Reynolds gave orders to move with all 
possible dispatch to Gettysburg, where General Buford with a 
small division of cavalry, was contending against Heath's divis- 
ion of infantry, and vastly superior numbers. 

The First Corps moved promptly, covered a distance of 



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nearly eight miles, and the first division, commanded by Gen- 
eral Wadsworth, the bravest of the brave, reached the field 
about ten o'clock in the forenoon, the other two divisions fol- 
lowing closely. Wadsworth's division left the Tawneytown road 
about half a mile south of Gettysburg and moved by the right 
flank across the field to the northwest some distance when the 
order was given, "On the right by file into line!" "Double 
quick! March! Load!" forming line of battle facing west and 
passing on over the crest through the grove at the Seminary, 
when Cutler's brigade moved by the right flank north across 
the Cashtown road into the wood beyond, while General 
Merideth's brigade kept on west across Willoughby Run. After 
making his dispositions in the morning General Reynolds rode 
in advance of the column, and when he had reached the Semi- 
nary I overtook him with a message and received instructions 
to hurry forward the other two divisions of the corps as fast 
as possible. When I left him he started towards the woCd 
where he was very soon after killed by a sharpshooter. In 
his death the country lost one of its noblest defenders, the 
Army of the Potomac one of its ablest generals. In returning 
for the second and third divisions I met John Burns in the field 
east of the Seminary with an old musket on his shoulder and a 
powderhorn in his pocket hurrying to the front looking terribly 
earnest; when near me he inquired, " Which way are the rebels? 
Where are our troops?" I informed him they were just in 
front, that he would soon overtake them. He then said with 
much enthusiasm, "I know how to fight, I have .fit before!" 
Wadsworth's division was immediately engaged, except the Sixth 
Wisconsin, held in reserve by General Doubleday's orders. Gen- 
eral Robinson and General Rowley were soon up with their divi- 
sions and hotly engaged, the former on the right of tlie line, 
extending to near the Mummasburg road, and the latter in the 
center between Meridith's and Cutler's brigades of Wadsworth's 



division. All present to-night are without doubt familiar with the 
ground over which we fought that day. The advantages of posi- 
tion were, perhaps, favorable to us, but in numbers the enemy 
was vastly superior. We had six brigades, numbering, with the 
artillery assigned to duty with us, 8,200 men, and maintained 
our position for six hours and a half against General A. P. Hill's 
corps of seventeen brigades, numbering over 30,000. General 
Archer and most of his brigade were captured early in the day 
by the "Iron Brigade." He had evidently expected an easy 
"walk over" judging from his disappointed manner after he was 
captured. A guard brought him back to General Doubleday, 
who, in a very cordial manner, they having been cadets at West 
Point together, said "Good morning, Archer! How are you? 
I am glad to see you!" General Archer replied: "Well, lam 
?iot glad to see you by a damn sight ! " Very soon after this 
little episode the Sixth Wisconsin, under Lieutenant Colonel 
Dawes, made a successful charge, resulting in the capture of a 
superior force of the enemy in the railroad cut north of the 
Cashtown road, and a little later General Baxter captured nearly 
all of Iverson's brigade. About two o'clock in the afternoon the 
Eleventh Corps reached the field and formed in line of battle at 
about a right angle to the general line of the First Corps, but 
did not connect with its right by several hundred yards, and 
both flanks were in the air. When Ewell's troops approached 
from Carlisle and York they struck the Eleventh Corps in front 
and on both flanks almost simultaneously, resulting in an easy 
victory to the enemy, giving them possession of Gettysburg 
before the First Corps had ceased fighting or left its position 
west of the Seminary. Thus the First Corps was enveloped on 
its right and rear and contending against vastly superior numbers 
in its front. About four o'clock in the afternoon General Double- 
day sent me to General Howard for reinforcements and orders. 
I found him \n the cemetery near the gate. He looked the 



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picture of despair. On receipt of the message he replied: "Tell 
General Doubleday that I have no reinforcements to send him. 
I have only one regiment in reserve." I then asked if he had 
any orders to give, and called his attention to the enemy then 
advancing in line of battle overlapping our left by nearly half a 
mile. He looked in that direction and replied rather sharply : 
"Those are nothing but rail fences, sir!" I said, I beg your 
pardon General, if you will take my glass you will see some- 
thing besides rail fences. Turning to a staff officer he bade him 
take the glass and see what it was. The officer looked, and in 
an instant lowered the glass saying: "General those are long 
lines of the enemy!" General Howard then turned to me with 
a look and in a tone of hopeless despair said: "Go to General 
Buford, give him my compliments, and tell him to go to General 
Doubleday's support." When asked where General Buford could 
be found he replied: "I don't know! I think he is over this 
way," pointing toward the east. After riding in that direction 
as far as I deemed it wise or prudent I returned to where General 
Howard sat just as that brilliant, dashing soldier, General Han- 
cock, the hero of Gettysburg, approached at a swinging gallop, 
and when near General Howard, who was then alone, saluted, 
and with great animation, as if there was no time for ceremony, 
said, General Meade had sent him forward to take command of 
the three corps. General Howard woke up a little and replied 
that he was the senior. General Hancock said, " I am aware 
of that. General, but I have written orders in my pocket from 
General Meade which I will show you if you wish to see them." 
General Howard said, " No. I do not doubt your word, General 
Hancock, but you can give no orders here while I am here." 
Hancock replied, "Very well, General Howard, I will second any 
order that you have to give, but General Meade has also directed 
me to select a field on which to fight this battle in rear of Pipe 
Creek," then casting one glance from Gulp's Hill to Round Top 



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he continued : "But I think this the strongest position by nature 
upon ^\hich to fight a battle that I ever saw, and if it meets 
your approbation I will select this as the battlefield." General 
Howard responded, " I think it a very strong position, General 
Hancock. A very strong position!" "Very well, sir, I select 
this as the battlefield." General Hancock immediately turned 
away to rectify our lines, and from that moment till the close 
of the battle he was the inspiring genius. His bearing was cour- 
ageous and hopeful, while his eyes flashed defiance. When the 
enemy attempted to storm Gulp's Hill he went there with sup- 
ports from his own corps without orders ; when their forces were 
concentrated against General Sickles to turn our left and capture 
Round Top he went to the rescue ; and when the grand final 
charge was made on the third day against his own corps he was 
there to meet it. During the shelling which preceded that charge 
I sat on a gray horse on the line of battle near the left center 
and notified Colonel Bankhead, General Meade's inspector gen- 
eral, of the enemy's advance as soon as their column appeared 
in sight. The Colonel put spurs to his horse and rode as fast 
as he could run for Meade's headquarters, yelling at the top 
of his voice "The enemy is coming! The enemy is coming!" 
About that time I went to General Hancock with information 
that General Standard, with the Vermont brigade, would be 
ordered to report to him if the emergency required. I found 
him a little northeast of General Webb's headquarters riding 
south along his line toward the supposed point of attack, and 
a few moments later he was wounded. 

Allow me to return for a few moments to the afternoon of 
the first day and I will close. There was no person present 
besides myself when the conversation took place between the 
two generals, Howard and Hancock. A number of years since 
I informed General Hancock of that fact and what I had heard 
pass between them. He said that what I have repeated here 



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to-night was true and requested a written statement, which I 
subsequently furnished him. When I left General Howard to 
return to the front I discovered General Buford's cavalry only 
a little west of the cemetery and delivered the order I had 
received from General Howard. He rose in his stirrups upon 
his tiptoes and exclaimed : " What in hell and damnation does 
he think I can do against those long lines of the enemy out 
there!" I don't know anything about that, General, those 
are General Howard's orders. "Very well," said he, "I will 
see what I can do," and, like the true soldier that he was, 
moved his command out in plain view of the enemy and 
formed for the charge ; the enemy, seeing the movement, formed 
squares in echelon, which delayed them and materially aided in 
the escape of the First Corps if it did not save a large portion 
of the remnant from capture. The formation of squares by 
the enemy that day has been doubted by nearly every one 
with whom I have conversed upon the subject, and not until 
the meeting of the survivors of the first corps at Gettysburg, 
in May, 18S5, was I able to satisfy Colonel Bachelder, who 
has made a study of that battle, of the correctness of my state- 
ment, and only then after it had been corroborated by two 
of Buford's officers who were in the engagement. 

An incident illustrative of the daring and courage of Gen- 
eral Wadsworth deserves mention. General Doubleday sent 
Lt. Lee with orders to retire to Cemetery hill. He found the 
brave old general with Captain Hall's Maine battery pouring 
canister into the advancing enemy at short range. His infan- 
try had already commenced the retreat, which left the battery 
without supports. When Mr. Lee delivered the order to retire 
General Wadsworth said: "Tell General Doubleday that I 
don't know a damned thing about strategy, but we are giving 
tlie rebels hell with these guns, and I want to give them a few 
more shots before we leave." A few years since I heard Gen- 



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eral Scales say, upon the ground where the battery had been 
posted, that his brigade was annihilated and himself wounded 
by the terrible fire from that battery. 

An amusing incident occurred soon after our forces had con- 
centrated on Cemetery hill. The enemy opened quite a brisk 
artillery fire upon our position, causing some confusion among 
our troops. About the first shell fired exploded directly under 
the kettle which the servant had on boiling our dinner and 
supper, for we had had neither that day. He had brought up 
"old shave-tail," our pack horse, and left him feeding a few feet 
east of the fire while he was busy about six feet north of it. The 
shell came from the west, and while it tore "old shave-tail" 
all to pieces, the man did not receive a scratch, but was so 
badly frightened that he stood like a statue for some moments 
as if paralyzed and as white as a corpse. It was the most 
laughable sight I ever saw in battle. We dined and supped on 
hardtack that night as our provisions went up with the kettle. 

At this time my attention was attracted by what resembled 
a column of infantry, platoon front, moving south along the 
stone fence east of the Cemetery and mounting my horse rode 
in front of it, when I discovered it was a rabble from the 
Eleventh Corps. Five calvary men with swords at a carry ap- 
peared to be guiding them off the field. I drew my revolver 
and ordered them back. A man in the vanguard who looked 
like a good runner said, "We are musicians!" I told him it 
made no difference what he was, that he must go down behind 
that wall or I would shoot him. I then asked the cavalryman 
nearest me why they permitted those men to leave in that 
manner, and he replied, "Captain there are only five of us 
and more than a thousand of these men. What can we do 
with them?" I ordered them to halt, about face, and cut down 
every man that attempted to pass them. The order was promptly 
obeyed, and in less than five minutes over a thousand men 

2 



were crouching behind that stone fence, a stampede ended, and 
subsequently the men were returned to their commands. 

The First Corps captured over three thousand prisoners on 
the ist day of July. Its losses were almost without a parallel 
in the annals of war, being 5,300 out of 8,200 men. But that 
frightful slaughter was not without some compensating results. 

It was the strategic skill of Reynolds and the determined 
heroic fighting of Buford and Doubleday and the men of their 
conmiands that made the battle of the 2d and 3d of July pos- 
sible. It was the gallant Hancock who selected the field and 
formed the line of battle from Gulp's Hill to Little Round 
Top on the evening of the first day. And I regret to say that 
O. O. Howard sent a cypher dispatch to General Meade during 
the battle on the first day to the effect that the First Gorps had 
broken and fled the field in great disorder. Notwithstanding 
he saw our line of battle west of the Seminary, where we held 
our ground as late as four o'clock in the afternoon, and though 
his attention has been called by me since the war to the gross 
injustice of that report, he has never had the manhood to cor- 
rect the vile slander and thus do justice to the brave men living 
and the heroic dead. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



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